Deconstructing Yankee Stadium

What it took to build Yankee Stadium.

Size of lot: 10 acres

Construction time: 284 days

Rebar: 800 tons

Mechanical steel: 2,300 tons

Topsoil: 13,000 yds.

Concrete: 20,000 yds.

Dirt removed: 45,000 cubic yds.

Sod: 116,000 sq. ft.

Cost to purchase lot: $675,000

Lumber for bleachers: 950,000 board ft.

Total lumber: 4,000,000 board ft.

Brass screws: 1,000,000

Construction fee: $2,500,000

* Keep Keepsakes @ Stadium

A press release via LoHud tells the story of two enthusiastic Yankee fans who tried to bring home some keepsakes from the final home opener during Yankee Stadium's final season:

The New York Yankees announced today that two fans were arrested during Tuesday’s Opening Day game vs. the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium for attempting to steal Stadium bunting and causing damage to the bunting and façade.

Both fans were charged with attempted larceny and criminal mischief. Each charge is punishable by up to one year imprisonment and/or fines. They were detained and booked by the New York City Police Department and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Yankees have also revoked their season ticket accounts.

And the harshest cut of all, waving bye-bye to those season tickets.

Bleacher Creatures On New Stadium

Filip Bondy, author of the excellent Bleeding Pinstripes book, took the temperature of the infamous Bleacher Creatures regarding the new stadium and the impending fate of the current House That Ruth Built.

But there is no stopping the cranes now. The new stadium is rising right across the street, scaring the Creatures half to death. Where will they be next year at this time? The Yankees are offering them season tickets again, but will their seats be further removed from the field? Will their section feature the beloved, butt-molded plastic benches?

It appears from early sketches that the Creatures may be forced to sit directly behind box seaters at the new stadium. This is good news, in that the heckling of fellow fans will be made easier and it will be difficult for beer vendors to boycott the Creatures. But it is also bad news, because opposing right fielders might not hear the carefully concocted taunts, and Derek Jeter might have to strain to recognize his name during the first-inning roll call.

“As far as 39 goes next year,” says Bald Vinny Milano, “there is a right-field bleachers now, there will be a right-field bleachers in the new stadium. When it comes time to pay for our seats, I believe they will offer us something ‘comparable’ to what we have now and we’re pretty much gonna be at their mercy. I have zero faith that anyone that works with or is involved with the Yankees actually cares one way or another if any of us go to the new stadium.

“Personally, I’m not even sure that I will make the move.”

"You know me well," says Tina Lewis, queen of the Creatures. "I'm very, very, very sad. It's going to be strange. I've seen things out there - the magic, the good, the bad - it just breaks my heart. Something hit me the first day I saw the place. I can't explain it and no amount of money in this world could replace it."

It appears from early sketches that the Creatures may be forced to sit directly behind box seaters at the new stadium. This is good news, in that the heckling of fellow fans will be made easier and it will be difficult for beer vendors to boycott the Creatures. But it is also bad news, because opposing right fielders might not hear the carefully concocted taunts, and Derek Jeter might have to strain to recognize his name during the first-inning roll call.

As a frequenter of the Yankee Stadium bleachers, it will be sad to see an end to that irreplaceable atmosphere - which includes the crappy confines, horrible food selection, alcohol-ban and dilapidated tunnel.

Before They Tear It Down...

NY Times beat writer Tyler Kepner uses a slideshow to take readers behind the scenes for rarely seen locales within the "Old" Yankee Stadium .

Further explanation and anecdotal gems can be seen in Kepner's article about the forgotten crannies of Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium's Hockey Farewell?

As the Yankees close in on their final season at the current Yankee Stadium, it appears as though the final professional contest held at the House That Ruth Built may involve slapshots and powerplays in place of double plays and walk offs. That's right. The Bronx may become Hockey Town USA II as the New York Rangers will likely play a regular season NHL game before the historic venue is torn down.

From the Daily News article:

As the current Rangers continue to drive down the stretch of this season, what is shaping up as a historic 2008-09 schedule now is expected to include a game at Yankee Stadium.

Momentum has built in recent weeks toward finalizing a deal that would have the Rangers play the final game in the storied history of the current Stadium, the Daily News has learned. The Yankees, who will move into their new Yankee Stadium for the 2009 baseball season, are said to be completely on board with having the NHL close the 85-year-old original.

And, anxious to build upon the buzz created by the wildly successful Winter Classic outdoor game between Pittsburgh and Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Year's Day, NBC and the NHL are intent upon seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. League and network representatives visited the Stadium recently to get an on-site view of what would need to be done to stage the event.

"It's something we've spoken both to the Yankees and to the city about," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The News. "But it's not a done deal. There are still other possibilities and a lot of moving pieces."

Its Still Yankee Stadium [Sort Of]

Derek Jeter and the interlocking NY aren't the only Yankees traditions making the switch from the old stadium to the new one. According to MLB.com, the new home of the Bronx Bombers will maintain its title as THE Yankee Stadium, refusing to relent to "Progressive" name changes like the one seen in Cleveland.

Lonn Trust put it best:

"You don't re-name the White House or the Grand Canyon," Lonn Trost said Thursday, acknowledging $50 million isn't just a ballpark figure. Moreover, the Yankees COO said the construction cost will exceed the announced $830 million by a half billion. In the name of tradition, the successor to The House That Ruth Built and John Lindsay refurbished will cost $1.3 billion to build.

The cost is for the Yankees to calculate, meet and privately lament. "We'll make it up some way," said Trost. Their public won't care about that anymore come 2009, when the gates open for the first time, than it cared about Derek Jeter's salary the night he sailed into the boxes in '04. The name of the park does matter, though.

The article also reports that the "the [new] field dimensions will be identical to the existing stadium."

New Stadium Gets Some Signage

And here is what it will look like upon completion:


* Baseball Prospectus is going overboard on Melky Cabrera [in a good way].

* Lance Berman wants blood tests in baseball right now.

* David Justice getting axed from YES Network?